Disclaimer: Do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.

K.C. Whitestar- Thank you SOO much!! sniff I feel so loved!! I'm glad you like my work!! I like your story I Found You! I wanted to submit another review, but it wouldn't let me It's really good!! I love it!!

Yes, now it's Kurama's turn. Oh, it's so sad. But it makes a great story. And please, please, please, please…30 minutes later…please, please, please don't forget to review!!! I want to hear what you think!
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"Now, let's try this again, shall we? This time, you are to hold completely still." Kurama pulled his hair away from his back, trying to stall as long as he could. "Why do you do this? You could have fought Hiei yourself, had the pleasure of torturing him with your own hands. Why do you do it through me?" Ryton laughed. "I'll answer that later. You won't put this off any longer." With that, he brought the whip slicing through Kurama's bare back.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" It hurt so much. He couldn't stand it. It was the most horrible thing he had ever felt. It... "Kuwabara!! Stop yelling in my ear!!!" Kuwabara became aware of Yusuke struggling again and screaming at him to stop. He stopped yelling but still had his eyes squeezed shut. He couldn't bear to watch a friend get hurt, especially Kurama. "Is...is it over?" he asked Yusuke meekly. He didn't need an answer. His spiritual awareness told him that Kurama was in pain.Then a ripping sound, a new burst of pain, and a yelp told Kuwabara that it was far from over.

The pain came again. And again. Kurama could feel the blood trickling down his back, soaking into his pants, falling at his feet. He watched the crimson puddle grow larger as the whip flayed his back. Again. Again. He cried out each time. But he stayed on his feet. He had to.

Koto began to count the amount of lashings Kurama received.One of her jobs was to keep the crowd happy, and they loved hearing numbers. "Seventeen! Eighteen! Nineteen! Twenty!..."

Hiei couldn't stand it. His whole body pounded with pain. His head spun. It was all he could do to keep himself conscious. He slowly became aware of his friend's cries of pain.

"K-kurama," he moaned. His friend cried out again.

"KURAMA!!!!!"

Ryton heard it. "Listen, Kurama. The fire demon speaks your name." Then came Hiei's yell. Ryton cackled. He brought the whip down again and again, more powerfully every time.

Then it stopped. It just stopped. Kurama closed his eyes and dropped to the ground, his back aching and bloody. He felt as if he were in another world, a world of slow motion, where pain and friendship didn't matter. Nothing mattered but sleep...

His face and hands met the concrete. And something zapped him. "Ahhh!!" he yelled, more surprised than hurt. He jolted out of his trance and looked up. Koto was beginning to count to ten. On the screen, Ryton's teammate was holding Hiei's katana dangerously close to the left side of Hiei's back. "Stay down, Kurama. Please," Hiei whispered. "Yes, Kurama. Stay down. We shall have fun killing him," echoed Ryton's team. "No..." Kurama pulled himself to his feet.

"Very wise choice, Kurama. You see, the bolts I shot from my body earlier were not wasted. They soaked into the ring, and as soon as your hands hit the ground they shoot into your body. As long as you stay on the ground, you continue to be zapped. I assume that's what jolted you awake. It started with a minor bolt, just to warn you. If you had stayed down, it would have gotten more intense by the second."

Kurama stood hunched over. The pain was intense. But he wanted his questions answered. "You...told me...you'd...answer my questions...later. It...is...later," he said. "Oh, that's right. I remember. Your question was 'Why torture Hiei through me?', correct?" Kurama nodded.

"The truth is, I wanted the pleasure of fighting him. I had my secret weapon, especially developed for use on that fire demon. But, if you recall, I was delayed in getting here. Rekenkai knew I was intenton fighting your friend. But he also wanted to destroy him. We had reached an agreement the night before. If I, the team leader,was not capable of fighting Hiei, he would take the fight. And so, thinking I was out of commission, he did. And he lost. But my teammates and I wanted revenge on Hiei, and, in case the plan did not work, none of them were strong enough or knew enough about you to take you on . And that's how I got stuck fighting you. I was the only one who had bothered to follow your adventures in your first tournament, knowing that someday, I would be the one to defeat you. And here we are, and I am doing just that. I am causing both you and my intended opponent pain. So, in a way, I win both my battles."

Kurama soaked it all in. But he was still confused. He wanted more answers, and he needed more time. So, he asked, "What is the secret weapon which you spoke of?" "I'm sure Hiei can answer that. Even though I did not use it in battle, it did come in handy. Why don't you tell him, Hiei?"

Hiei was yanked off the floor and set in front of the TV again. "Go ahead. Tell him!" said Ryton. "I...will...tell...him...NOTHING! If...you...want...him...to...know...tell...him...yourself.
I...take...orders...from...no one," Hiei spat at Ryton.

Kurama flung his head upward and stared straight into Hiei's ruby red eyes. "It's alright, Hiei. Please, tell me." Hiei couldn't resist the fox demon's piercing glare. He took in a rattling breath. "I don't...know what...he's talking...about. Unless...he means..." "Yes, that's exactly what I mean," confirmed Ryton.

Hiei closed his eyes, remembering how this all began. "A band," he murmured. "A metal band."

He took in a breath and, with much effort, told his story. "I was lying in bed when I felt another present, but I knew it was not one of you. I reached for my katana, but it was not there. The metal band clamped around my wrist. It..." he hesitated as he remembered that horrible feeling. "...drained my energy. I couldn't move. Someone pressed a towel soaked in some sweet-smelling drug over my face. I passed out and woke up here." He gestured around him with his eyes. "Then they showed up and beat me into the wall over and over again. Finally they dragged me over to this TV, turned it on to your fight, and...you know the rest."

By the time he finished, he was shaking with effort. It was very difficult to talk normally when his whole body was screaming with unreleased pain.

Kurama stared at him. He couldn't believe that a device could actually drain Hiei's energy.

Yusuke had finally wriggled free of his partner's grip. He was about to pump his energy to the max and leap into the ring, firing Spirit Gun blasts, but Hiei's story stopped him. He stood gaping at the screen, as unbelieving as Kurama. This gave the freaked-out Kuwabara time to snap out of it, get off the ground, and tackle Yusuke back to the grass. Yusuke didn't put up a fight. He just lay sprawled beneath Kuwabara's heavy body in shock.

"Ingineous, isn't it?" Ryton cackled. "I designed it especially for Hiei's power level. It will take days for his energy level to reach normal. It's the perfect weapon!" "Ingineous, yes," admitted Kurama, "But not wise. It has a flaw." "And what would that be?" Ryton asked. "What if Hiei grew stronger?" the fox demon replied.

Ryton was completely unfazed. He laughed."As a matter of fact, I am working on a design that drains everyone's energy, no matter how powerful they are. My prototype is complete. And I've been looking for a test subject."

Kurama ground his teeth. --I thought I had him there. If I was correct, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and I could have transferred some of our energy to Hiei through his Jagan. Then he would have had enough to escape. But with that device, there's no way out.--